A Thematic Review of Science Education Studies on 4th Grade

Abstract

This study aimed to thematically analyze science education studies focusing on 4th grade from 2006 to 2017. A total of 80 studies (18 dissertations and 62 articles), which met the related criteria ‘4th grade and date range’, were included for the thematic review. These studies were examined via such parameters as publication year, purpose, method, sampling level, data collection instrument, data analysis method, intervention duration, unit under investigation, used method / strategy, conclusion and recommendation. The results revealed that most of the studies under investigation were conducted in 2014 and purposed to examine any student development. A considerable number of these studies collected and analyzed their data with quantitative ways. Given their results, the studies reported positive effects after the teaching intervention. However, methods such as argumentation and game-based instruction have still remained limited. Hence, the current study recommends that design-based researches focusing different game designs on argumentation be conducted.